


Warring States

by TekkaWekka, VorpalGirl



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005), InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Action/Adventure, Canon Compliant, Canon Continuation, Crossover, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Distress Call, Drama, Feudal Japan, Gen, Japanese Culture, Japanese Mythology & Folklore, Mostly Manga Canon, People Don't Always Like The Doctor, Some Humor, Time Travel, Time War, Timey-Wimey, Warring states, Youkai, Yôkai
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-17
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-06 17:28:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,823
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3142703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TekkaWekka/pseuds/TekkaWekka, https://archiveofourown.org/users/VorpalGirl/pseuds/VorpalGirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Tenth Doctor's Tardis receives an ominous and strangely-worded message... in Gallifreyan. But when he and Rose follow it to feudal Japan, they get a lot more than they bargained for.  </p><p>Set sometime after Who episode "Tooth and Claw", and post-series end for Inuyasha.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Very Good Question

**Author's Note:**

> We have some great big plans for this, but with so many balls in the air (other fics, life stuff), it feels like a good idea to warn you that it's likely to be a slow updater. But, we both knew we needed to start posting it or it'd never get done. :P
> 
> Canons used: In both cases the "original" canon (TV series for Doctor Who, manga for Inuyasha) is the primary source for both continuity and characterization, though we borrow where we feel like it from adaptations and expansions, e.g. the anime, the novels.
> 
> Don't be shy about commenting, okay? Even if it's criticism! Concrit is always appreciated <3

“Where to this time?” asked Rose.

“A surprise,” said the Doctor. She watched him fiddle with the Tardis console, a twinkle in his eye. She smirked at the bounce in his step as he made his way around the control panel; he clearly had something special planned. He was practically skipping with excitement.

Or at least he was at first.

Until a weird beeping issued from the opposite side of the console. He blinked in surprise, before dashing around it, swiveling a monitor to face him. “A message…“ he murmured, tapping on a couple of keys.

“A message?” she said, joining him. “From who? Wait,” she added. “From _where_? Are you just pickin’ it up out of the Vortex?”

“Sort of,” he said, his tone darker than she would have expected. She glanced at him, and saw he looked a little...disturbed, actually. He glanced at her, then. Met her eye. Gesturing at the monitor, he asked: “Look familiar?”

She looked at the screen.

It did look...vaguely familiar somehow, though she couldn’t quite place why. It mostly just looked like some weird abstract art, all circles and dots and crescents, like someone had gotten bored and decided to fiddle with a protractor and drawing compass.

She bit her lip. She hated the feeling of not knowing, but feeling she _should_ know. But he had said it was a message, hadn’t he?

“Um,” she said. “I think I’ve seen it somewhere, that kinda —” she pointed to the screen, her finger twirling in vague circles. “Swirly writing before, yeah? I can’t remember where, though…” Then it hit her, and she stood stock still, frowning. “Wait. Shouldn’t that be _translated_? I should be seein’ it as English, right?” Unless it wasn’t really text, unless it really _was_ an abstract art piece — after all, who said every culture needed to talk in words?

Except.

Except something deep inside her said that it wasn’t. That no matter how weird it looked to human eyes, it was _writing_.

Writing that the Tardis wasn’t translating for her.

Come to think of it, even pictographs should be translated; they had always been translated for her in the past. It wasn’t like Ancient Egypt’s hieroglyphs, or the pictographic writing of the ancient Maya or even the Vorladoo of Snatch hadn’t been counted as “writing” as far as the Tardis was concerned.

So. Why wasn’t it translating _this_?

She turned to look at the Doctor, and found him watching her with quiet interest. “You’re right,” he said, as if reading her mind. “It’s writing. And the Tardis isn’t bothering to translate it. She wouldn’t, because she assumes anyone on board can read it.”

“Why would the Tardis assume that, though? I’ve been on board for like, couple years now, yeah?” she said.

“Because she’s Time Lord technology,” he said.

Which was when it finally clicked. “Wait,” she said, her jaw dropping a bit. “You’re...you’re sayin’ this is _your people_ ’s writing?”

“Gallifreyan,” he confirmed.

“But—Gallifrey is…”

“Yes,” he said.

“But then everyone else who could read this…!”

“Yes,” he said.

“Then...who sent it?” she said.

He shrugged. “Someone who can read it,“ he said. “Read a dead language, that only exists in a history that is no more.”

“That’s...a bit weird,” she said cautiously.

She was a bit relieved to see him give a fidgety bounce on his heels, his eyebrows waggling. “It most certainly is,” he said. “Weird, and worth checking out, wouldn’t you say?”

She felt her lips draw into a slow grin. “Oh yes,” she said. “Definitely!”

She caught a brief flicker of delight in his eyes, the kind she knew he felt when she was in an enthusiastic, curious, adventurous sort of mood. The brief moment of bounciness disappeared quickly though, replace by a more somber look. He reached over and tapped another key, and said quietly: “Rose. Take a look at the translation.”

She looked to the screen again, watching as the circular writing morphed into common, modern English.

_Please help us. They have found the Well._

A distress call, then. No wonder he was so subdued. She wondered if it sounded as confusing to him though as it did to her.

“The Well?” she said. “What’s that, then?”

A spark of curiosity flitted across his features.

“No clue!” he said, nodding towards the display. “But it’s giving us coordinates. Which, for some reason, appear to be in feudal Japan.”

She raised her eyebrows at this. “Feudal Japan? Really?”

“Really,” he said, flicking a couple of other controls.

“What could possibly be sending out a Gallifreyan distress signal in feudal Japan?” she said.

“Again: no clue,” he said, raising his own eyebrows as he yanked the demat lever. “Ready to find out?”

 

***

 

In the woods behind him, Sesshōmaru heard a wheeze and the creak of a solid wooden door. Three heartbeats, but no weapons nor even the faintest trace of aggression or yōki. Pitiful though their claim was, the army of soldiers before him demanded more attention. He kept his gaze on the mounted general in front of him. The man, and all the soldiers following him, reeked of sweat and road dust.

The general’s horse had sweeter breath than its rider. Sesshōmaru noted the creature’s rolling eyes before he realized the general was addressing him.

“Foul monster! By the order of the lord of this land, you are to depart and cease your depredations! If you do not retreat, we will sunder each part of your body from the other and bury your head in salt, so you never trouble our lord again.”

Sesshōmaru idly wondered which warlord meant to claim the plains this time. Sidestepping the red-faced general, he glanced at the banners carried by the soldiers. The emblazoned crest stirred no recognition in him, which meant more pitiful creatures with no name sought to kill him. He narrowed his eyes.

“Disband and leave,”  Sesshōmaru said.  

As usual, his generosity was met with an attack. The general screamed some pointless order and reached for his sword. Before he could fully draw, Sesshōmaru sliced the mundane steel in two with his light whip. The general’s armor lasted no longer than his sword, and did not protect him when the light whip swung back around to slash open his chest. The horse reared and wheeled, fleeing from the predator who took out its rider.

He waited with the general’s blood cooling on the grass beside him, wondering if this time, the soldiers would value their lives. Perhaps they would follow the horse’s wise example.

They did not. Instead, the soldiers charged him, spearmen first, screaming out what he presumed was the name of their forgettable lord. A flick of his finger and the light whip encircled the spearmen, cutting their weapons before dismembering them. In the seconds before the rest of the soldiers realized how many of their comrades died with one stroke, Sesshōmaru called upon his true form and _changed_.

His eyes tripled in size, growing red and luminous. Pale fur spread across pale skin. His cheeks split as his face lengthened into a muzzle, baring his fangs. His claws lengthened and thickened to match his growing hands and feet, and even as his now-front paws hit the grass, the ground fell away as he reached his full height. Where a strange young man in fine clothes once stood, a gigantic white dog howled and drooled acidic poison from a tongue longer than a man was tall.

Finally, the soldiers valued their lives and ran away.

 

***

 

They had indeed materialized in feudal Japan - in what the Doctor called “the Warring States period.” From the sounds of things, it might live up to the name, Rose thought. They’d landed in some woods, not far from what _definitely_ sounded like a battlefield. She could hear the unmistakable sound of men threatening each other at the top of their lungs. A sound she was a bit too good at recognizing nowadays.

She glanced at the Doctor, who frowned, and then of course headed straight towards the yelling. Naturally, she followed him.

She was very glad she’d already been dressed for hiking.  

As they came to the edge of the wood, the Doctor stopped so suddenly that she almost ran into him. She heard his breath catch, saw him tense, as she saw a flash of sickly greenish-yellow light from the field beyond. She ducked around and down a bit to glance under his raised arm, and saw exactly what had made him gasp: a man falling from his horse, his old-fashioned armor useless against the whip of light that had just sliced through him like butter. The man’s horse fled in terror, its eyes rolling in panic.

And like watching a train wreck, they saw the idiots behind him see this...and race forward. Right to the slaughter.

“No,” whispered the Doctor. “No, no no...NO!”  

As the men were sliced through like their general, the Doctor started forward — so quickly, Rose almost didn’t catch him. Thank god he wore that trench coat. She managed to grab onto it, yanking him back into the bushes before he did something a little too suicidally heroic.

“Doctor!” she hissed, “watch out!” Because she had seen what, surprisingly, he hadn’t — the figure who had wielded the deadly whip of light. And how it had begun to change...

Oh, he noticed it _now_ though. He sucked in a slow breath, as he watched what had once been a humanoid form transform into a much, much larger, pale white canid.

Larger, as in monstrously huge. It took up most of the field, now.

“Kinda like Scotland,” said Rose softly. “On’y it’s a lot bigger this time, yeah?”

“No,” he said, considering the beast. “No, it’s not like Scotland.”

“What?” she said, surprised. “I’m sorry, did we just watch the same battle? If that’s not a werewolf —”

“It’s not,“ he said, staring at it for a moment.

She glanced back at the not-werewolf. She was relieved to see the remaining soldiers were smart enough to finally flee. “Well, granted,” she said, “the guy back in Scotland couldn’t do that...laser...whip thing. But —”

“That is not in any way a human, Rose.“

She turned back to him. He met her eyes, and the dark look in his own made her shudder.

“Well, yeah, but...the thing in Scotland was alien anyway, right? It just _infected_ humans…”

“This isn’t an alien, either.”

She blinked. “Then...sorry, but what is it then, if it’s not human and it’s not alien?”

He turned back to the field, and said, “I’m not sure you want to know.”

Oh no, she knew _that_ look. That was the Doctor’s Righteous Anger face.

“Doctor,” she warned, “that thing took out an army like it was _nothing_.”

“So have I,” he said matter-of-factly. “With a lot less.”

“Well, yes, but —” but he got up anyway, and she knew that even grabbing the coat would be useless at this point. He was far too stubborn when he got like this. “Oh for…” she muttered.

But she followed again anyway, as he marched into the battlefield, stepping over the general’s corpse without even looking. He walked right up to the beast, and called out, “Oi! You!”

The creature stared at him, in much the same way a Great Dane might regard a chihuahua.

“There a _good_ reason for you to have killed all those men?“ said the Doctor, an edge of warning to his voice. “Or do you just like instigating unfair fights as a _hobby_?”  

God, only the Doctor would think to backtalk a giant wolf...dog...beast...that had just scared off an entire army, Rose thought.

The creature gently snorted —an impressive sound in its own right— and regarded the Doctor with supreme disdain.

She wondered if there was a language of Dog Snort, because the Doctor seemed to get a whole sentence out of that.

“Yes, well,” he said, as if the creature had spoken. “Wonderful as that is to know, I don’t _care_ if you didn’t instigate it. There’s still no call for murdering the whole lot of them! Compared to you, they were practically unarmed!”

Why oh why did the Doctor like poking beehives so much, she thought, looking at him with increasing worry. Yes, she agreed with him. Wholeheartedly.  But she’d already seen him die _once_. Was he trying to make it twice?

“It is not my concern if some pitiful lord wishes to sacrifice his greatest fools to harass me.”

She started, turning back. Her mouth fell open. He was...humanoid again. Not completely human-looking though, she noticed. Now that she was closer, and so used to looking for the odd, once she’d gotten over the fact that he wasn’t a huge dog beast anymore, she had almost immediately spotted the pointed ears. 

“And if it’s only just _harassment_ to you, why bother slaughtering them?” the Doctor said hotly, interrupting her train of thought. And with no sense of surprise, as if people turned back and forth from giant dog beasts every — well, actually, come to think of it: Scotland. So she supposed they did.

The...whatever he was, was dressed elaborately—and partly in armor, she noticed, which seemed ridiculous given he probably didn’t need any. And a giant...fluffy thing of some sort. Her eyes automatically skimmed over him, filing away the Unusual traits: His hair was a stark, shining white despite his apparent youth; his irises were an impossible-seeming gold, though the pupils were round, like a human's; he had reddish, slash-like stripes on his cheeks, a dark crescent moon on his forehead — natural markings, she wondered, or tattoos? Though this was all processed at a glance, something told her the delicate red lines above his eyes were part of his skin, rather than eyeshadow.  She’d maybe think him handsome, she thought briefly, if she didn’t know how bloody lethal he was. 

His humanoid expression wasn’t any less haughty than his canine one was.  He harrumphed softly, and turned to walk away.

“I have no interest in the affairs of time travelers,” he said, with the none too subtle implication that time travelers should have no interest in _his_ , either.

Rose found her mouth falling open again. The Doctor was by her side by the time she managed to close it. As usual, she turned to him for an answer: “Wait...we didn’t—how the bloody...?”

“That’s a very good question,” he replied, as he stared pensively after the...whatever it was. There was a flicker of rebellion in his eyes as he smiled and turned to her. “Want to find out?”


	2. Want To Find Out?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This took forever to get up and it shouldn't have, sorry ^^;; 
> 
> We would both like to give special thanks to bookworm4ever81 for encouraging us on this story. :)

The fight against Naraku had yielded immense benefits, Sesshōmaru had decided. Awareness of his great power had spread far and wide, and as a result, few dared stand in his way. When the terrible yokai Sesshomaru said "move," people moved. Even that far too haughty time traveler with two hearts did not dare attempt to detain him.

And yet, these human villagers were in his path. Poor enough that even the headman wore a patched kimono, they presented a pitiful sight -- and they cringed, wringing their hands, studying the ground. Not the usual body language of confrontation.

Why then, were they in front of him?   
  
The headman stepped forward, his eyes trained on his sandals.

"You have our endless thanks, my lord Sesshōmaru. This would have been the second time they raided us..."

Ah, that made more sense. This village did stand between that pitiful army and Rin's village. They would have been attacked first, had he not taken a proactive approach to her welfare. Suffering even one army's presence would also explain their poverty. After these facts became clear, Sesshōmaru realized the headman was still thanking him.

"Enough," he said. "You have nothing I desire."

"Ah, yes, my lord Sesshōmaru, there is nothing we can offer a yōkai as great as yourself. But, we have heard your young ward will celebrate coming of age soon..."   
  
The headman peeked up at Sesshōmaru, and when he displayed no overt hostility, continued speaking. "We are a poor village, but we have many craftsmen. If you would forgive our presumption, we would like to offer the young lady a gift."

At a glance from the headman, a young woman stepped forward. It was always young women, he had noticed, who were forced to give such offerings. He wondered if they really thought him so easily swayed, or if it occurred to them that such an assumption might be considered an insult.  
  
After bowing deeply, the woman held out an open box to him. Though disdainful of the approach, curiosity did get the better of him, and he glanced down.  
  
Inside, resting on clean white silk, was a hair ornament in the style of a comb. The body was of black lacquer, darker than the void between the stars yet glossier than silk brocade. In the center of the comb, outlined in gold, was the emblem on his kimono reproduced in red lacquer: three cherry blossoms in three separate hexagons, ascending. Sesshōmaru reached forward and grasped the comb, mindful of his claws.  
  
The villagers held their breath as he let it catch the sun.   
  
The lacquer work was flawless.

"She will find your gift acceptable," he said. The sound of half a dozen humans exhaling at once was deafening. Tucking the comb away in his sleeve, Sesshōmaru noticed the villagers regarding him with smiles on their faces, and stared at them. "You are in my path."

The villagers scrambled to one side, bowing as he passed.   
  
Part of the preparations for his return had just finished. The rest involved immersing himself into human society again, in a much less tolerable fashion. Sesshōmaru still felt and smelled the time travelers, and wondered why he allowed Kaede to raise Rin in a village with the only other time traveler around. No doubt the strange pair would wish to meet with Kagome.

Let them come, he decided. If the creature with two heartbeats assumed Sesshōmaru was ignorant of what he truly was, it would be a pleasure to prove the man wrong.  

 

* * *

 

Rose and the Doctor had, of course, followed Big Scary Not-Werewolf Guy. How else were they going to figure him out?

They kept a cautious distance on the road (such as it was), but, being Rose and the Doctor, they were naturally still quite close. They started rounding a bend, and paused, backing up a bit, as they realized he too had stopped. There was a crowd of jittery peasants in front of him.

One of the peasants came forth cautiously, and said with extraordinary nervousness, "You have our endless thanks, my lord Sesshōmaru. This would have been the second time they raided us..."

"Guess we know his name now," Rose muttered. She glanced at the Doctor.

He was frowning.

The nervous peasant man kept thanking this "Sesshōmaru" even more profusely, to... almost no reaction. Except possibly boredom. "Enough," Sesshōmaru said finally. "You have nothing I desire."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at this.

"Ah, yes, my lord Sesshōmaru, there is nothing we can offer a yōkai as great as yourself. But, we have heard your young ward will celebrate coming of age soon..."

A what? Rose mouthed in confusion. The Doctor shrugged, knowing exactly what she was referring to, given the context. "TARDIS doesn't translate the untranslatable," he said softly.

"We are a poor village, but we have many craftsmen," continued Nervous Peasant Guy. "If you would forgive our presumption, we would like to offer the young lady a gift."

A young woman stepped forward, bowing deeply, and offering something to the subject of their fearful gratitude. He picked it up, and held it up to the light.

"A comb?" whispered Rose.

"Yep... hair...decoration thing," Doctor added quietly, slipping on his Brainy Specs and squinting. "Lacquered, I think?"

"She will find your gift acceptable," said Sesshōmaru. The Doctor took note of how relieved the peasants were at this rather mediocre response.  As he tucked the gift into his generous sleeve, Sesshōmaru regarded the  villagers -- who were smiling at him in what the Doctor considered a perfectly friendly and genuinely grateful manner -- and  responded with the terrifically humble: "You are in my path."

Rose rolled her eyes. "Blimey, bit full of himself, ain't he?" she muttered, watching the skittish peasants scramble to get out of the guy's way.

"Yes, lovely fellow," the Doctor said dryly. "Who terrifies the daylights out of everyone he meets, notice.  Always a good sign."

He grinned at her, a twinkle in his eye. "Care to make some new friends?"

She smiled back. "Always."

 

* * *

 

The presence of the time travelers behind him was as irritating as a mosquito whining next to his ear. Their scent diminished as he walked past the recovering village, until only the continual pulse of their life energy allowed him to sense their position. This almost certainly meant the pair had stopped to interrogate the villagers.   
  
With small release of power, Sesshōmaru rose into the air, fur trailing behind him. Even at this height, his golden eyes picked out the figures of the villagers and the two interlopers clearly. One of the villagers looked up, and Sesshomaru recognized her as the one who had held out the comb to him. With over twenty feet of height between them, she caught his eye...and scowled. 

Her expression remained even after he smirked back at her. She appeared more steadfast than her headman, but of course, the humans would never recognize such a quality in a woman. The light-haired time traveler looked up and then faced the woman glaring at him, drawing her attention away. Sesshomaru turned his back to the village and his front to the nearest castle town.

As he approached the castle town, he appreciated being upwind from the human settlement. Even when they bathed regularly, humans produced copious and noxious scents through their everyday habits. If the winds had not been in his favor, the stench of rotting food, human waste, and industry would already be assaulting him. Sesshōmaru narrowed his eyes as he heard the lookout bell. While he cared little about the townspeople spotting him, the melodrama was unnecessary. By the time he cleared the walls and floated to the main avenue, most of the townspeople had already scrambled through whatever door would open for them. Only the local lord's soldiers remained at their posts, standing motionless and near breathless.

Truly, this was unnecessary.

Still, he imagined few people ever enjoyed the pleasure of walking the streets of a castle town without dodging carts and runners every second. He need not worry about dust or mud soiling Rin's gift, and any pickpocket suicidal enough to try him would not make a move without a heavy crowd to hide them. Sesshōmaru reached his destination with no witnesses save for a stray dog watching him from the shade of an alleyway.

He parted the curtain separating the store from the street, revealing a grey-haired woman with a permanent squint. As usual, her poor vision did not prevent her from expertly coordinating the colors of her spotless kimono. Mrs. Masuyo had been one of two kimono sellers eager to offer her wares to Sesshōmaru, and her age won her his business. In these times, any human old enough for every hair on her head to grey and yet still a business owner, had learned some sense.

"Ah, I assumed you were here, Master Sesshomaru! Your order is right on time, and perfect for the dear lady. Please, come in, come in."

She hurried to the spotless counter and delicately unwrapped a package. This one was wrapped in dark blue silk with woven floral motifs, for whatever purpose. Inside was his reason for spending his time on this paranoid town: Rin's kimono for her coming-of-age ceremony. Mrs. Masuyo unfolded the garment for his inspection, and he ran his fingertips over the threads, searching for a single flaw in the weaving or dye. He found none, and set down the expected gold as Mrs. Masuyo re-wrapped the kimono.

"I wish I could attend, Master Sesshōmaru, but traveling does my bones ill and the shop needs constant looking after. You know how times are." She held out his purchase and smiled. "How else may I help you?"

"Winter comes soon," he replied.

"A shawl for the young lady, then?"

Sesshōmaru tipped his head forward a fraction of an inch, and then left as Mrs. Masuyo bowed. Instead of repeating his stroll through the town, Sesshōmaru launched himself into the air right in front of her store. The lookout bell rang again as he soared over the walls, and he heard the townspeople return to the streets, gossiping and murmuring. What fools. Their scents were not so noxious he could not spend ten minutes in their presence.

Heading in the direction of Kaede's village, Sesshōmaru found Jaken where he expected him: less than halfway to the village despite leaving the castle town far earlier, with Ah-Un balking at the end of his lead despite Jaken pulling with all of his strength.   
  
Ah-Un started forward once Sesshōmaru landed on the road, causing Jaken to trip. The noseless imp landed face first in the dust, but Ah-Un courteously avoided stepping on him.   
  
Sesshōmaru noted the rice, azuki beans, and sake loaded onto the two-headed dragon's saddle. Jaken had managed to buy the proper supplies, at least. Once Sesshōmaru walked down the road, Ah-Un lost all reluctance to return to Kaede's village and walked beside him.

"Master Sesshōmaru, waaait!" Jaken ran towards them, the Staff of Two Heads threatening to tip him over with every step. Sesshōmaru did not even need to check when Jaken made a far too familiar croaking noise. Summoning his light whip, he snatched Jaken up and dumped him onto Ah-Un's neck. Jaken grabbed the dragon's mane at the last possible moment, saving himself from falling off. "Ah, thank you, Master Sesshōmaru."

"Be thankful you have not slowed me down," said Sesshōmaru.

Instead of simply following his order, Jaken started croaking again. Sesshōmaru studied the road ahead and pushed all thoughts of backhanding the imp silent from his mind, a difficult task. Smacking his servant would merely take time he could spend returning to the village and to Rin.

 

* * *

 

The Doctor strolled casually around the corner, Rose at his side. At the sound of his footsteps, the villagers turned. They were met with guarded looks, after they took in their appearance.

The Doctor smiled in his best Totally Friendly manner, and said: "Hello!" 

The young woman in front gave them a considering look –– she was the one, Rose noticed, who had offered the "hair decoration thing" to that Sesshōmaru guy, and was still left holding the lacquered box. She also was the first to respond.

"Hello," she said, cautiously, as she closed the box.

"I'm the Doctor," he said, and slipped both hands to his sides, bowing deeply. "Hajimemashite!"  He then rose and, well, gestured to his side. "My friend, Rose."

Rose blinked. Oh hell, this was worse than a pop quiz. "Um," she said, attempting to bow the way the Doctor had. "Hajima-Hajma––um," She glanced up at him, with slight irritation. "Doctor!" She hissed. "You know I’m bad at this greeting! How do you say that thing you said, again?"

"Oh! Sorry," he murmured, as if realizing for the first time that she didn't speak five billion languages. "Ha-ji-meh-ma-shteh. Or, well, you could just say 'Pleased to meet you for the first time', Tardis should translate it just fine for you. Just make sure to keep bowing until you're finished saying it."

She gaped at him for a moment in mild disbelief. Then turned and, awkwardly managing to bow continuously, said: "Er, right... Pleased... to meet you for the first time?"   
  
God, he could be absent-minded sometimes.

The young woman considered them for a moment, then bowed, bringing her hands gracefully forward to clasp in her lap as she spoke. "I am Noa. Hajimemashite." She came out of the bow with equal grace, and said: "What brings you two here?"

The Doctor paused long enough in thought that Rose decided to jump in instead.

"Traveling," she said. "Ran across that fella you were just talking to a minute ago. What's his deal, anyway?"

The Doctor smiled slightly, at how Rose slipped into Investigatory Mode like a glove.

Noa's expression shifted slightly, from guarded politeness, to a sort of mild exasperation. She glanced up, as did Rose, following her gaze to see Not A Werewolf Guy flying off, nearly a good ten metres up. Rose thought she saw him smirk, slightly. She turned back to Noa, who she noticed was scowling at him as he left.

"Yeah," said Rose. "That guy."

Noa turned back to her, "You must not be from around here, to not recognize Lord Sesshōmaru."

"Yeah," said Rose. "We're just passing through."

"Saw him wipe out an army," added the Doctor quietly. "Because they were, quote, 'harassing' him."

Noa sighed. "Yes," she said, glancing back at the other villagers pointedly. "I told them it probably had nothing to do with us, but, well. " She shrugged. "Still of benefit, so it's reasonable to show gratitude."

"Benefit," said the Doctor edgily.

She looked at him even more pointedly, meeting his eyes. "Yes, benefit, " she said firmly. Her jaw set. "When your home is overrun, Doctor-san; when every thing of value is taken from you; when your fields are burned; when your fathers and brothers are taken away from you and returned crippled, if at all; when your sisters, your mother, even your grandmother is made a... plaything." Her eyes were stormy as she stepped closer to him. "Then, Doctor. Then you can tell us off for being glad those men are dead."

He softened at this, "I'm sorry."

She snorted. "I should hope so." She turned, nodding to one of the other villagers, and then in the general direction of the field. He paused, then nodded once, meeting some of the other villagers' eyes as the unspoken agreement passed between them. They moved respectfully past the Doctor and Rose, down the road.

"Don't worry," said Noa stonily. "We'll give them a burial; we're not beasts." She sighed. "Any case, what did you even want with Lord Sesshōmaru, anyway? I guarantee, if you're planning to do... anything towards him, it's a bad idea."

"Yeah," said Rose dryly. "I noticed."

"Hmm," said Noa. " It's not even just that, really. I mean, he is a powerful yokai. But he's not... on bad terms with most of the local villages, honestly. Well," she snorted. "Wouldn't entirely call it good terms, either, but...."  She shrugged.

Rose frowned, "That word...'yokai'? What does it mean?"

Noa blinked. "You... don't know?"

"Nope," said Rose. "Like I said – travelers."

Noa thought about it for a moment, considering her. "Well... they're powerful creatures."

That seemed to be the only explanation she was able to give, which didn't seem terribly helpful.

"Powerful how?" said Rose.

Noa gave her a look that said, Do You Really Have To Ask?

"Oh," said Rose. "Powerful, as in... transforms into a giant dog at will, laser whip, and all that."

"Well, not all of them. Lord Sesshōmaru is one of the stronger ones. And there are different kinds..." she tilted her head  to the side, considering Rose. "I suppose you're not yokai, then?"

Rose laughed. "Blimey, no! 'Course not. Regular ol' human, me."

"Are you from Priestess Kagome's country, then?"

Rose and the Doctor glanced at each other. "Why, where's she from?" said Rose.

Noa looked at the remaining couple of villagers, who had stayed out of curiosity.

"Did she say she was from 'Tokyo' or 'Japan'?" said Noa, turning to an old woman not far behind her. "Do you know, Ikuko? I can't quite remember."

"I think the priestess said she was from a _town_ called 'Tokyo' in a _country_ named 'Japan'?" offered Ikuko.

"Wait, aren't we _in_ Japan?" Rose asked, looking askance at the Doctor. "You land us in the wrong spot again?"

"Yeah, you're in Musashi. If you want to go to Japan or Tokyo, you'd have to ask Priestess Kagome for directions," replied Noa.

"And...where is this...Priestess Kagome?" said Rose, noticing a slight smile on the Doctor's face of the I Know Something You Don't, Hehehe type.

"Only a few days on the road, which is safe enough to use these days. Go straight –– don't turn, unless you need supplies from the castle town –– and even then, the merchants will rob you blind. You'll see the stairway leading to the shrine in the mountain before you see anything else." Noa snorted. "If you see our friendly protector flying overhead, you're going the right direction."

"Really?" said Rose, looking in the direction Sesshōmaru had actually flown, which didn't seem to be the right direction at all.

"Yeah, he's... got some... I don't know, attachment to young Lady Rin," said Noa. "And that's where she lives right now as well, with Priestess Kaede. Priestess Kaede knows Priestess Kagome, so she's your best bet to find her. " Her mouth quirked into a slight smile. "Unless you run into her husband, first. Don't worry, he's not as bad as his older brother."

Rose blinked. "Sorry?"

"Inuyasha is Sesshōmaru's younger brother. Silvery hair, white dog ears, tends to wear red. Kind of can't miss him if you do see him. " Noa said. "He can be a bit temperamental, but he's a bit more..." she paused. "Human, I guess? You can at least make heads or tails of him." She glanced back towards Sesshōmaru's flight path. "Unlike _some_ yokai," she muttered.

"Right," said Rose. "All right then... uh, thank you... for your time and all."

Noa smiled. "No problem," she nodded at each of them, as she headed back the way Rose and the Doctor had come. "Safe travels."

It was another minute or so of walking before Rose finally turned to him, and asked, in long-suffering resignation. "All right, what's with the smirk?"

"Musashi," he said cheerfully. " _Is_ Tokyo. Before it was 'Tokyo'. Well, before it was even ‘Edo’, honestly. "

"Oh," said Rose. The Doctor didn't say anything further for a long moment, and it took her about that long to realize why: he was waiting for her to put two and two together and realize...

"Wait a minute!" she said, stopping suddenly. "They said she was ' _from_ _Tokyo'_ , yeah?"

His eyes glimmered as he stood, basking in the joy of someone else's Eureka Moment.  "Yes, they did."

"That means..." Rose breathed. "That Priestess Kagome..."

"Yes," said the Doctor.  "She's a time-traveler, as well. Or at any rate, not native to this era."

"That... can't be nothing, " Rose muttered. "Can it?"

"Maybe, maybe not," the Doctor grinned at her, offering her his arm. "Want to find out?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Japanese culture/language notes: 
> 
> Yōkai (sometimes romanized as 'yokai' or 'youkai') is a term that will actually get explained better (by the Doctor, to Rose) in a later chapter, but if it's going to bug you, basically it refers to any non-human mythological-type creature. Centaurs? Yōkai. Genies, mermaids, magical foxes? Also yōkai. It's kind of a catch-all term, in a way that English doesn't quite have a word for it. The closest English comes is 'monster' but even that isn't quite accurate, as many of them are beautiful or even benevolent. This is why the Tardis couldn't translate for Rose: there isn't a version of it in her language.


End file.
